The Warangal BJP unit is wooing TRS leaders into their party with the aim of fielding one of them in Station Ghanpur bypoll after their state leadership in a meeting with all BJP district presidents on Saturday decided to contest all the bypoll seats barring Nagarkurnool seat.

Those in BJP unit’s search radar are contractor-politicians capable of funding the Station Ghanpur bypoll (scheduled on March 18) expenses on their own besides those TRS leaders from the Station Ghanpur constituency, whose electoral chances were affected post the entry of defected Congress MLA Dr T. Rajaiah into the TRS.

According to BJP sources, the existing Station Ghanpur bypoll ticket seekers within the party — Chiluka Vijay Rao, G Ramesh and V. Jaipal — are ‘willing’ to accommodate an outsider to strengthen the party.

Presently, BJP’s cadre strength is poor in Station Ghanpur constituency well below that of rival Congress, TD and TRS.

However, the BJP decision to contest is set to upset the political apple cart in Station Ghanpur bypoll as even TRS sources acknowledge that it will reduce the margin of victory for the winning candidate.

The constituency has 2.18 lakh registered voters, with equal percentage of female and male voters.

In Warangal’s electoral history, BJP had poor electoral performances without forming political alliances. Only on few occasions like in the 1985 Parkal Assembly poll (then BJP’s V. Jaipal defeated Congress’ B. Sammaiah) and 1983 Shyampet Assembly seat (then BJP’s Ch. Janga Reddy defeated Congress’ P. Dharma Reddy) BJP candidates won handsomely without alliances.

Meanwhile, before jumping into bypoll campaign, district unit BJP leaders have thought out an answer on why they are contesting against Dr T. Rajaiah, who is seen as one who has resigned from his seat following demands made by the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (TPJAC) for statehood.

“It is true that BJP was part of TPJAC when it made the demand for all sitting MLAs from Congress and Telugu Desam to resign for T. However, after resigning, Dr Rajaiah joined the TRS, which was not part of TPJAC demand. Hence we are contesting in Station Ghanpur but not in Nagarkurnool against former TD leader Nagam Janardhan as he did not join any political party,” said D. Devender Reddy, BJP district unit president, adding that they are in ‘talks with two-three leaders of political parties’.